Some of our customers ask me if Baidu SEO is still worth investing in? I always say “yes, but not in the traditional definition”. Here are my reasons.

1. Baidu is more than a pure search engine.

Unlike Google, Baidu SERP contains not only SEM and SEO search results but also relevant results from Baidu Group services such as Baidu Baike, Baidu Zhidao, Baidu Wenku, etc. Therefore, Baidu is more like an information aggregation platform. Baidu allocates more traffic resources to its own services. For example, if you search for a keyword, in the SERP below the SEM area, Baidu’s own services always rank at the top of the organic search results.

2. Can websites still get traffic from Baidu now?

Yes, but for many industries, this traffic is no longer sufficient to support the company’s profitability goals. The reason for this is that Baidu changed the focus of the algorithm and will not give the site the traffic it deserves. If you are new to the market, it takes more effort to get the QS and weight to be listed at the top. In this case, websites can still get traffic from Baidu.

3. Chinese mobile users are not as reliant on search engines as before.

Nowadays, Chinese internet users spend more time on social media apps. This part of the traffic is mostly taken by a large number of mobile apps, short videos, all kinds of vertical information apps and so on. All these apps also function as a search engine and give the information needed.

4. How to do SEO now?

SEO is still important, but you have to change your strategy.

• For the Chinese market, the understanding of SEO should not be limited to the website, but should be taken as the integration of multi-channel and multi-content forms of traffic.
• SEO changes with the development of user behavior, just like the transformation from desktop to mobile. Brands should start thinking about doing SEO on TikTok, Red and Zhihu to increase brand awareness. This also helps the content ranking on Baidu.
• Make full use of Baidu services. Many Baidu services, such as Baidu Zhidao andBaidu Wenda can help brands to expose themselves to Baidu SERP. Therefore, I suggest brands also start working on these Baidu services to maximize brand exposure on Baidu search engine.

What kinds of services are there on Baidu that can help to increase brand exposure? You can check our Baidu service page.

To learn more about Baidu SEO and get marketing advice, please feel free to send me an email at liyue.wu@anber-consulting.com.